A Study of the Hero
by Wolfish Oro
Summary: Sarah always fancied herself to be a hero in a tale, in myth, in general. With the Labyrinth before her, she finally has a chance to become what she wished to be.
1. Chapter 1

_**A Study of the Hero**_

* * *

><p><em>Icarus<em>

If imagination served as her wings, then Sarah soared – high, long, daily flights of fancy that took her beyond the mundane world she considered so far beneath her. Like Icarus, her wings were made by the crafty people who came before her – the Brothers Grimm, Anderson, Homer, Bullfinch, Yolen, Yeats, Tolkien – stories and schema the feathers in her wings and her dreams of them the wax that let her fly. Firmly she strapped those wings to her arms, tirelessly she worked those muscles to ride balmy thermals, confidently she used the insubstantial to lift her ever higher.

Like Icarus, her wings took her too high, too near to the threatening heat of the sun – and like Icarus, her melting wings cast her too low until she nearly sunk beneath the world she sought to escape.

But ah, Sarah Williams, mortal and foolish though she was, was not Icarus – and so she glided on those melting wings, sinking deep and giving the wax time to harden again before testing their strength and, finding her feathers once more secure, brought herself back to the heights she'd reached before – though perhaps with a wary eye on the dangerous sun and a form of overconfidence born of experience.

* * *

><p><em>Helene<em>

Sarah had seen the Williams family crest, proudly displayed in her father's study – the elegant helmet and scrollwork surrounding the shield with a golden lion rampant. Well, she was no golden beauty – she'd leave such a lot to her stepmother – but she fancied herself a lioness after the family crest, a daughter of the house and a fierce one at that – not a lion rampant but a lioness couchant gardant, relaxed and aware.

Yes, beneath that dark mane and green eyes lay a clever lioness and when that cunning lion challenged her, well, she couldn't leave a standing challenge, especially not with her brother involved – while she might not like her brother much, the boy was hers, and to think he could be stolen from under her… The challenger was in for a long battle.

Not that this lioness would be remembered for her battle – no, indeed, all references to her hereafter would refer first to her treachery in wishing the boy away, followed shortly by allusions to the mortal beauty that captivated the immortal king while her claws ripped into him and her teeth tore through him. And as she would be indelibly marked by this battle, so too would she always be named by it as Sarah of the Labyrinth.

* * *

><p><em>Ajax<em>

There was something to be said for being great but not the best. It meant that victory was hard-won and well-respected and that each challenge was welcomed as another chance to prove herself. Admittedly, it often led her to feint at shadows and challenge any authority she encountered – but with the king staring down at her with mocking eyes, she thought the habit would serve her well.

For such a warrior this was more than merely a battle, more than just the prize at stake. With fame and glory in mind, she made the first, heady step into what she was sure would be her greatest triumph.

* * *

><p>Oro: This is an idea I've been toying with for a while... I'm not sure how long it will be, but I'm limiting myself to Greek mythology (admittedly not my forte or even preference, but that's the challenge).<p>

Quill: Labyrinth isn't ours... but myth is public domain, so there! (rucks up feathers)

Hob: There's at least another chapter to this and possibly one long one on Odysseus.

Oro: Something to bear in mind: a Greek hero isn't made by the morality or justice of their actions but by the fame of their exploits - which is why I think the comparison suits Sarah.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A Study of the Hero**_

* * *

><p><em>Orpheus<em>

There was a disconcerting moment when she realized her feet were firmly planted on the ground but Underground. There was a sky above her but presumably also a world hanging over her head, since this was not Anotherground but Underground. There was the simultaneous sense of claustrophobia and agoraphobia on that desolate hill outside the Labyrinth's gates and it distracted her to the point that she almost forgot to mind the fey king who'd transported her.

Like Hermes, that dratted male relayed his message and took off as if on winged feet – one minute beside her and speaking, the next just disappeared. Strangely, this impossibility grounded her spinning head and brought her attention back to the sprawling, shifting Labyrinth before her.

Superstition, that sense ingrained in her by her books that ran cool fingers down her spine, prevented her from looking over her shoulder to try to locate the window she'd been beside moments ago. Instead, she fixed her gaze forward, gathered her courage, and set off.

* * *

><p><em>Hippolyta<em>

The lioness stirred again, a purposeful shift of muscle and temper. She could see the wall. She could see the gate keeper. And yet, the way remained closed to her.

The gate keeper was less than impressed with her temper, outright contemptuous of her admittedly misbegotten attempt at kindness towards the fairies, and downright cantankerous, to her eyes. He was trying to run her in circles with half-answers to her questions and that just wouldn't do.

Eventually, she asked the right question and gained entrance to the Labyrinth – and then the unhelpful little man proved just as disrespectful and contrary when she asked for advice, continuing to purposely avoid answering her intended questions and focusing on twisting her words about. Well, fine. She only had time for one Labyrinth to solve – and he clearly was not the priority.

Leaving the grumpy, grumbling man to himself, she stalked off. Help would have been appreciated, but if she had to be a one-woman siege, so be it.

* * *

><p><em>Daedalus<em>

She tried not to let the long, boring corridor frustrate her. There would be a turn somewhere, an opening, a twist or curve – hell, it was very possible that the path indeed curved, but curved so slightly that she hadn't realized that her bearing had shifted.

She knew mazes and she knew labyrinths – as if this were the only she'd ever encountered! – and wondered which this kingdom really was. Should she take it at the king's word – call it a labyrinth, as he did – or was it a maze?

The difference, she knew, was in intention. A maze was made to lose people. A labyrinth guided them to a predetermined destination – usually the center. Despite her frustration with the path she was currently on, if this was truly a labyrinth, then which path she took wouldn't alter her course at all.

If she was wrong, if this was a maze…

There was no time to consider that now. It was entirely possible that the twists and turns she'd seen within contained both – the long, winding path to the center and the confusing jumble of turns to throw her off track and drain her time.

Stubbornly, she kept walking for what seemed like almost an hour – sometimes jogging, sometimes walking briskly, trying to dodge the felled branches and slick moss – keeping an eye out for another path. By the time the Worm stopped her, she was more than ready to risk taking another route to the center.

* * *

><p><em>Hector<em>

The Worm, she found, was much friendlier than the gate keeper. He wasn't necessarily any more helpful. He, too, ran his words in rings, but once she caught the gist of what he said, she found him rather more amiable.

Half-heeding his words, she charged off, heading into the Labyrinth, aiming for the heart of it. So quick was she to be in the thick of things that she didn't stay to hear out the little adviser's final words. Had she not been quick on her feet later on, her error could well have been fatal.

* * *

><p>Oro: I'm trying to keep these more or less in chronological order... that's rapidly falling apart. If chapters after this are anachronistic, it's because I'm trying to arrange this by incidents and heroes first and by timeline second. Odysseus, I'm afraid, will be outside the time line entirely - or rather, far more woven through it.<p>

Hob: See you soon!

Quill: (crunching on something that sounds suspiciously like a disclaimer... let's pretend he's eating a mouse instead, shall we?)


	3. Chapter 3

_**A Study of the Hero**_

* * *

><p><em>Cadmus<em>

She wasn't particularly sure that it was wise to interrupt the soldiers, but the beast before her sounded like he was in a great deal of pain and she cringed at the thought of just sneaking by them without at least trying to help.

She looked around but didn't see any sticks to use as weapons, but she saw a few fair-sized rocks. Glancing back at the soldiers with their biting creatures hoisted high, she quickly reached down, picked up a rock, and let it fly. She was lucky – it caught one soldier's helmet and spun it around; he then stumbled and knocked into his brethren, and the squadron fought each other in a chaotic brawl before one had the sense to call for them to retreat.

All in all, it happened fairly quickly and then Sarah was left staring warily at a great beast tangled up in a trap – and the beast stared warily back, apparently unsure whether she was a rescuer or a particularly vicious scavenger.

* * *

><p>Oro: This chapter's short, but I've much to do and little time with which to do it. I figured I could at least post one chapter today.<p>

Hob: Something in this is public domain... something else is not...

Quill: And you can figure it out yourself!


	4. Chapter 4

**_A Study of the__ Hero_**

* * *

><p><em>Ariadne<em>

A clever woman finds a way to make her mark – and Sarah, though not always clever, was quick to adapt to the Labyrinth. The lipstick, perhaps, wasn't as useful as a ball of yarn, but she hoped to literally paint the blazes and keep herself from going in circles.

She thought it was working and blessed her vanity for keeping such supplies close to hand – and then she saw the goblin flip the cobblestone.

And just like that, she was adrift once more.

* * *

><p>Oro: Also short.<p>

Quill and Hob: We don't own what we don't own.


End file.
